‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: A First for Gus is a newly released, debut picture book for author Sherry Roberts. The story of Gus and Santa Claus is illustrated by Dylan Hale.
If you love dogs, especially basset hounds, then you will love Roberts first book featuring Gus, a rescue pup - rescued by Santa! - who finds his first home in his first adventure.
“’Twas the night before Christmas, all asleep without fuss,
The shelter dogs snored, except little Gus.
The collars were hung by their leashes with care,
In hopes for a walk in the fresh winter air.”
The story is a remake (I think that’s the word I’m looking for) of the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. This time it’s not just about Santa. It’s about Gus and he’s ready for his forever home. Once he’s awaken to Santa’s sleigh and his eight tiny reindeer landing outside, Gus hops aboard and is ready for his adventure.
“He looked in his bag and pulled out a toy,
Gus wished for a ball. He’d been a good boy.
The house smelled like gingerbread and Christmas spice.
Gus thought, “I could live here, it’s really quite nice.””
Gus falls asleep under the decorated Christmas tree amongst the presents as Santa finishes his work. In the morning, he is discovered by his new family!
Roberts writes a very sweet book that is fun to read due to the sing-song rhyme throughout the pages. It’s a cute Christmas book to add to your collection or to give to a child who absolutely loves dogs. There’s a QR Code to scan on the very last page. It acts as the epilogue for Gus’ Christmas story.